Dyspnea

What is Dyspnea?

Dyspnea, or shortness of breath is a common symptom for people with lung disorders. Dyspnea is "air hunger" that causes difficulty in breathing. It can make you feel as if you cannot get enough air into your lungs. For some people, dyspnea may cause a feeling of panic, which creates a greater sense of breathlessness.

Some people may experience breathlessness only with physical activity, and be comfortable at rest. Or they may be aware of the effort of breathing even at rest. The amount of dyspnea depends on the cause as well as an individual’s environment and emotional state.

Dyspnea may occur normally during intense exercise, such as running, mountain climbing, lifting, rowing, and swimming. In this case, the stress of breathing is a direct result of intense physical effort and not a due to a lung, heart, or other disorder.

What Causes Dyspnea?

Some of the causes of dyspnea include:

Pulmonary & Chest Disorders

  • Aspiration of a Foreign Body
  • Asthma Episode, or Attack
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
  • Lung Cancer
  • Pleural Inflammation & Pleurisy
  • Pneumonia and Other Lung Infections
  • Pneumothorax
  • Pulmonary Embolism
  • Trauma to the Ribs

Heart Disease

  • Heart Attack
  • Heart Failure
  • Pericarditis
  • Unstable Angina

Psychological/Emotional

  • Anxiety
  • Hyperventilation
  • Panic Attack

Last modified on: 8 September 2017